Akanksha: After spending a few days in Bangalore, we boarded our flight which flew directly to Bangkok. This was the first time I was visiting South-East Asia so as one can imagine I was excited, to say the least. We landed at Suvarnabhumi airport early in the morning. The visa requirements were different for both Sharat and I. As an American citizen, I did not require a visa to enter the country. Sharat, an Indian citizen, did require an on-arrival visa, which he received at the airport at a cost of 1,000 baht. We met up at baggage claim as immigration was separate for both of us.
Sharat: If you are an Indian going to Thailand, the visa on arrival can be quite an experience. The procedure is fairly straightforward; stand in line, fill a form with a passport size photo, keep copies of your itinerary (which in my case the officer did not even ask for) and stand in the line. Since most nationalities either require no visa to Thailand or are required to obtain visas from their countries; the visa on arrival line is dominated by Indians and Chinese. The process took about 45 minutes and I was (without choice) treated to the ramblings of a very drunk, middle aged Punjabi man who kept using the choicest of Hindi/Punjabi expletives to express his views on the efficiency of the Thai immigration official checking documents, and gave a rather graphic description of what he was going to do once he was out of the airport . Once my documents were checked, I was sent to the next counter where I paid my 1000 baht and got my visa stamped. I rushed down to the baggage claim to find Akanksha waiting rather patiently with the suitcases. We then headed down (literally two escalator flights down) to the metro station to catch a train into the city. Before getting on the metro though we picked up a free Bangkok map that was available at the station. All through our trip we were to rely heavily on these free tourist maps.
Akanksha: We chose not to stay in the commercialized area of Bangkok but closer to the historical area in Tha Tien. To get to Tha-Tien from the airport you have to switch from the airport metro line to the Bangkok BTS.We had to switch lines at Siam. We thought we'd stop at Mc. Donalds in the station and ask for a black coffee to wake us up. Surprisingly, they didn't serve hot coffee so we settled for an iced coffee topped with ice-cream (as you can imagine, neither of us was too disappointed with this). As we looked down from the open platform, we saw taxis in shades of bright pink, green and blue waiting at a traffic signal. The colorful taxis were just the beginning of a trip full of sights which will forever be etched in our memory.
We took the metro up to Saphan Taksin station which is on the banks of the Chao Phraya river. We walked down the steps from the metro station to reach Taksin pier. This was the starting point for the Bangkok tourist boats and an important pier for all boats. From there, we traveled by a "tourist" express boat to Tha-Tien.
Sharat: Bangkok was once called the Venice of the East. Development and rapid expansion away from the river have meant that modern Bangkok is connected by buses, taxis and a very efficient metro. However in the days before Thailand became an "Asian Tiger", the old city (or rather cities) of Bangkok was laid out along the Chao-Phraya river and the canals (natural and man made) that feed it. If you want to experience Bangkok there is no better way to do it than the river. Every historic place has a pier that offers boat access.
The river is still dotted with barges and boats that cater to the needs of local transport. Each five star hotel has its own boat and there are plenty of boatmen looking to offer custom "cruises" not to mention luxury boats offering dinner cruises. However the budget tourist can get on the public boats that will get you to your destination just as quickly and efficiently for a fraction of the cost. While cruising down the river there are two types of boats. The tourist boat; which is a slightly wider boat that has an English speaking guide; costs 40 baht for a one way ticket (regardless of where you get off) and the express boat which is narrower, has no guide and costs just 15 baht. We did not feel confident enough to lug our suitcases on the express boat so we decided to take the tourist boat (although, later on in the trip, we would feel confident enough to lug our suitcases on any form of transportation!). In addition to these boats, each pier has a barge (although they call it a ferry) that crosses the river. River crossings will cost you all of 3 baht (10 cents!).
Akanksha: From the moment we got on to the boat, we were mesmerized. We passed very fancy hotels, situated on the river banks. Continuing further down the river, not too far from the hotels, we saw nearly dilapidated houses on stilts. We passed by government buildings and saw the Wat Arun, the oldest temple in the region. One would never imagine that a twenty minute boat ride could show you just how distinctive and diverse a city can be. Although most tourists would rather take a taxi/tuk-tuk to their hotel from the central pier, we chose to take the boat, and we would recommend it to all, especially if you are staying in the historical area.
We got off the boat at Tha-Tien. The pier in itself looked old and as we walked through it with our suitcases, the wood beneath us creaked, and I began to question whether it was sturdy enough to support our weight. The pier had been transformed into a tourist shopping area and souvenirs of all kinds were available. The end of the pier led us to a street. One thing that is instantly noticeable in Bangkok, is that people are always eating no matter what time of day. As we left the pier, we saw families eating together at makeshift cafes on sidewalks. Passing through the street, our noses stung due to the overwhelming smell of dried fish sold in abundance. We saw fruits that we'd never seen before, such as rambutan, dragon fruit, mangosteen and jujube.
Our hotel was a few meters away from the pier, as stated by Google maps, so we decided to walk. Nobody on the street could seem to pin point where the hotel was located exactly when we asked for directions. All the side lanes seemed to be residential and looked almost identical, and since were staying in an hotel that was quite small, with only eight available bedrooms, we had slight difficulty finding it. As we were walking up and down the side lanes, we came across two young men who asked if we needed help. We inquired if they knew where the Royale Tha-Tien Village was located. They locked their car and hurriedly took us to a small hotel, which we would have surely missed as there was no sign on the door for us to recognize the hotel by. One of the young men introduced himself to us and said with a big smile that he worked for this hotel. What a pleasant surprise! Check-in was at 2pm and it was just 12pm so our room wasn't ready. It didn't matter to us though. We were relieved that we had found the hotel. The staff offered to keep our luggage in the lobby so that we could go and explore the old part of the city. We were off!
Sharat: If you are an Indian going to Thailand, the visa on arrival can be quite an experience. The procedure is fairly straightforward; stand in line, fill a form with a passport size photo, keep copies of your itinerary (which in my case the officer did not even ask for) and stand in the line. Since most nationalities either require no visa to Thailand or are required to obtain visas from their countries; the visa on arrival line is dominated by Indians and Chinese. The process took about 45 minutes and I was (without choice) treated to the ramblings of a very drunk, middle aged Punjabi man who kept using the choicest of Hindi/Punjabi expletives to express his views on the efficiency of the Thai immigration official checking documents, and gave a rather graphic description of what he was going to do once he was out of the airport . Once my documents were checked, I was sent to the next counter where I paid my 1000 baht and got my visa stamped. I rushed down to the baggage claim to find Akanksha waiting rather patiently with the suitcases. We then headed down (literally two escalator flights down) to the metro station to catch a train into the city. Before getting on the metro though we picked up a free Bangkok map that was available at the station. All through our trip we were to rely heavily on these free tourist maps.
Akanksha: We chose not to stay in the commercialized area of Bangkok but closer to the historical area in Tha Tien. To get to Tha-Tien from the airport you have to switch from the airport metro line to the Bangkok BTS.We had to switch lines at Siam. We thought we'd stop at Mc. Donalds in the station and ask for a black coffee to wake us up. Surprisingly, they didn't serve hot coffee so we settled for an iced coffee topped with ice-cream (as you can imagine, neither of us was too disappointed with this). As we looked down from the open platform, we saw taxis in shades of bright pink, green and blue waiting at a traffic signal. The colorful taxis were just the beginning of a trip full of sights which will forever be etched in our memory.
We took the metro up to Saphan Taksin station which is on the banks of the Chao Phraya river. We walked down the steps from the metro station to reach Taksin pier. This was the starting point for the Bangkok tourist boats and an important pier for all boats. From there, we traveled by a "tourist" express boat to Tha-Tien.
Sharat: Bangkok was once called the Venice of the East. Development and rapid expansion away from the river have meant that modern Bangkok is connected by buses, taxis and a very efficient metro. However in the days before Thailand became an "Asian Tiger", the old city (or rather cities) of Bangkok was laid out along the Chao-Phraya river and the canals (natural and man made) that feed it. If you want to experience Bangkok there is no better way to do it than the river. Every historic place has a pier that offers boat access.
The river is still dotted with barges and boats that cater to the needs of local transport. Each five star hotel has its own boat and there are plenty of boatmen looking to offer custom "cruises" not to mention luxury boats offering dinner cruises. However the budget tourist can get on the public boats that will get you to your destination just as quickly and efficiently for a fraction of the cost. While cruising down the river there are two types of boats. The tourist boat; which is a slightly wider boat that has an English speaking guide; costs 40 baht for a one way ticket (regardless of where you get off) and the express boat which is narrower, has no guide and costs just 15 baht. We did not feel confident enough to lug our suitcases on the express boat so we decided to take the tourist boat (although, later on in the trip, we would feel confident enough to lug our suitcases on any form of transportation!). In addition to these boats, each pier has a barge (although they call it a ferry) that crosses the river. River crossings will cost you all of 3 baht (10 cents!).
Akanksha: From the moment we got on to the boat, we were mesmerized. We passed very fancy hotels, situated on the river banks. Continuing further down the river, not too far from the hotels, we saw nearly dilapidated houses on stilts. We passed by government buildings and saw the Wat Arun, the oldest temple in the region. One would never imagine that a twenty minute boat ride could show you just how distinctive and diverse a city can be. Although most tourists would rather take a taxi/tuk-tuk to their hotel from the central pier, we chose to take the boat, and we would recommend it to all, especially if you are staying in the historical area.
We got off the boat at Tha-Tien. The pier in itself looked old and as we walked through it with our suitcases, the wood beneath us creaked, and I began to question whether it was sturdy enough to support our weight. The pier had been transformed into a tourist shopping area and souvenirs of all kinds were available. The end of the pier led us to a street. One thing that is instantly noticeable in Bangkok, is that people are always eating no matter what time of day. As we left the pier, we saw families eating together at makeshift cafes on sidewalks. Passing through the street, our noses stung due to the overwhelming smell of dried fish sold in abundance. We saw fruits that we'd never seen before, such as rambutan, dragon fruit, mangosteen and jujube.
Our hotel was a few meters away from the pier, as stated by Google maps, so we decided to walk. Nobody on the street could seem to pin point where the hotel was located exactly when we asked for directions. All the side lanes seemed to be residential and looked almost identical, and since were staying in an hotel that was quite small, with only eight available bedrooms, we had slight difficulty finding it. As we were walking up and down the side lanes, we came across two young men who asked if we needed help. We inquired if they knew where the Royale Tha-Tien Village was located. They locked their car and hurriedly took us to a small hotel, which we would have surely missed as there was no sign on the door for us to recognize the hotel by. One of the young men introduced himself to us and said with a big smile that he worked for this hotel. What a pleasant surprise! Check-in was at 2pm and it was just 12pm so our room wasn't ready. It didn't matter to us though. We were relieved that we had found the hotel. The staff offered to keep our luggage in the lobby so that we could go and explore the old part of the city. We were off!
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